Top-hung door



Feb. 2 4. 1925.

c. I. WALKER TOP HUNG noon Filea'aan. so, 1922 Z 9 a 30 IllllllllIIllllllllivilllllll llllIl l Ira/amid! C/iarlea I 174%)" Patented Feb. 24, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES I. WALKER, OF 120$ ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

TOP-HUNG DOOR. 7

Application filed January 30, 1922. Serial No. 532,929.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, CHAnLnsI. amina, a citizenof the United States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Top- Hung Doors, of which the following is a full, clear, concise, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification. 1

This invention relates to improvements in top hung doors.

One object of the invention is to provide a top hung type of door of rigid, durable and relatively light construction, especially adapted for use as a side door of a box car.

More specifically, the object of my inven tion is to provide an improved strong and efficient arrangement for hanging a door composed of sheet metal by utilizing certain parts of the door proper for the supporting rollers to thereby eliminate the relatively expensive hangers heretofore commonly employed. V

In the drawing forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 is a vertical, sectional view taken transversely of a box car through the side door thereof and showing my improvements in connection therewith. Figure 2 is a broken, side elevational view of the upper rear corner of the door shown in Figure 1. Figure 3 is a vertical, sectional view corresponding to the section line 33 of Figure 2. Figures 4 and 5 are views similar to Figures 2 and 3 respectively, illustrating another embodiment of the invention, Figure 5 corresponding to the section line 5-5 of Figure 1.

Referring first to the construction illustrated in Figures 1,. 2 and 3, the car is shown as provided with a side sill 10, threshold board or plate 11, side door post or jamb 12, side plate or lintel 13, and an upper door-supporting roller track 14.

The door proper is composed of sheet metal of relatively thin gauge but with the sheet metal so arranged and corrugated as to provide great strength, per unit of weight, against blows applied perpendicular to the plane of the door or to any ofthe edges thereof. To this end, the door is preferably composed of a main sheet metal plate 15 of rectangular outline, the same having formed integrally therein vertical corrugations 16 near each edge thereof, top

and bottom horizontally extending corrugations 1? and 18 adjacent the top and bottom edges of the door respectively, and a plurality of other and preferably horizontally extending corrugations 19, within the area defined by the edge corrugations 16, 17 and 18, the horizontal corrugations at their ends merging with the vertical corrugations 16. It will be noted that all of the corrugations 16, 17, 18 and 19 extend outwardly from the general main plane of the door so that the latter may lie close against the side wall of the car and allow free movements of the door back and forth horizontally.

To obtain the necessary rigidity and strength around the marginal portions of the door, I employ margin strips of sheet metal 20 on each vertical side, a strip 21 at the top and a strip 22 at the bottom. Each of the side marginal strips 20has a portion doubled over the corresponding side edge of the main sheet of the door, and the bottom marginal strip 22 also has a portion doubled over the bottom edge of the main sheet of the door, this arrangement providing a three ply construction at the side and bottom edges of the door. The lower margin strip 22, on the inside of the main sheet, is extended over the lower corrugation 18 and riveted or spot welded to the main sheet so as to form, in efiect, with the corrugation 18, a tubular structure affording great strength against pressure applied in any direction to the door. Similarly, the side strips 20 are extended on the inner side of the main sheet of the door over the vertical edge corrugation 16 and riveted or spot welded to the main sheet inside of the edge corrugations 16, thus obtaining the same degree of rigidity for the vertical edges of the door.

The top reinforcing strip 21 may be of slightly heavier gauge than the main sheet of the door, and 011 the inner side of the latter, the lower edge of said strip 21 is extended below the horizontal corrugation 17 and riveted or spot Welded to the main sheet. Said strip 21 is extended upwardly and folded around the top portion of the main sheet so as to form three plies of metal at the top of the door and in this connection, as will be clear from an inspection of Figures 1, 2 and 3,the top portion of the door is more extended than the side or bot tom marginal portions. The three-ply section of the top marginal portion of the door Eli is bent outwardly horizontally as indicated at 28 so as to provide, in effect, a stiff right.- angular flange.

To support the door from the track 14, a plurality of rollers may be employed, preferably two. Only one of such rollers and its mounting is shown in the drawing, it being deemed unnecessary to illustrate both. To rotatably support said roller, indicated at 24, I employ a short section of channel 25 having the web thereof underlying and riveted to said triple-ply flange 22-3 as by the rivets 26.-26. The inside flange 27 of the channel section is further riveted to the two-ply marginal portion of the door as by the rivets 28. The roller 24- is carried by a suitable journal 38 which may be a heavy rivet countersunk at its headed end within the flange 27 of the channel section, as clearly shown in Figure 3. The tripleply flange of the door is cut-away or recessed as indicated at 29 and a corresponding alined opening or recess-30 is out within the web of the channel section, to accommodate the roller, the lower portion of the roller projecting below the flanges of the channel section and adapted to ride upon the track 14:, as will be clear from an inspection of Figure 1. It will be noted that the rollers are disposed immediately above the top horizontal corrugations '17 and are outside of the general main plane of the door but Within a vertical plane passing through the outermost points of the corrugations 1:7, :18 and 19.

With the arrangement shown, it will be evident that I avoid the use of the usual expensive brackets and instead utilize part of the door structure proper for the mounting of the rollers, thereby producing a more economical and more durable and rigid arrangement.

In the construction shown in Figure 1, instead of employing a section of channel, I employ a relatively short section of angle iron 125 having the top flange riveted to the-triple-ply flange 123 of the door as by the rivets 126. The vertical flangeof the angle iron section is disposed inwardly and riveted to the two-ply section of theupper portion of the door as'by'therivets 135'.

To mount the roller 1%, the latteris provided with a suitable heavy pin journal 12S mounted in-bearingsprovided by spaced depressed portions 10 of the top flange of the angle iron, it being understoodthat said top flange is cut away between said depressed portions 10 to accommodate the roller, the triple-ply flange 123 being similarly cut away for thesame purpose.

I have herein shownand described what I now consider the preferred manner of carrying out theinvention but the sameis merely illustrative and all changes and modifications are contemplated that come within the scope of the claims appended hereto.

I claim:

1 As an article of manufacture, a door formed of sheet metal having the top portion composed of a multiple of plies of sheet metal, said top portion having part thereof :bent substantially at right angles to the general plane of the door, and a supporting roller mountedon said multiple-ply portion of the door.

2. As an article of manufacture, a sheet metal door having anoverhanging top edge composed of a multiple of plies and pro vided with a corrugation extending parallel and adjacent to said edge, and supporting rollers mounted on said multiple-ply portions above said corrugations.

3. As an article of manufacture, a sheet metal door having strengthening indentations therein extended outwardly from the general main plane of the door, the top of the door being composed .of a multiple of plies of sheet metal, said top being bent outwardly from the general main plane of the door so as to overhang, and supporting rollers carriedby said multiple-ply outwardly bent :portion.

4. As an article of manufacture, a sheet metal door having a top flange extending at substantially right angles to the main plane of the door, a bracket in which said rollers are journaled, and means for securing said bracket directly to said flange.

5. As an article of manufacture, a sheet metal door having atop flange extending at substantially right angles to the main plane of the door, supporting rollers, and means for. rotatably attaching said rollers to said flange including, for each roller, a separate bracket 'in the :form of a section of a commercial shape rigidly secured to said flange.

6. As an article of manufacture, a sheet metal door havinga top flange extending at substantially right angles to the main plane .of the door, support-ing rollers, and means for rotatably attaching said rollers to said flange including, for each roller, 21. section of'acommercial' shape secured to said flange, said section-of commercial shape and the flange having openings within which the roller is partially received.

7. Asan article of manufacture, a sheet .metal door having a top flange composed of a plurality of plies of sheet metal extending at substantially right angles outwardly from the main plane of the door, and. supporting-rollers carried by saidmultiple-ply flange.

8. As an article of manufacture, asheet metal door havinga top flange composed of a plurality of plies of sheet metal ex tending at substantially right angles out- .wardly from the main plane of the door,

supporting rollers, and means for r'otatably attaching said rollers to said multiple-ply flange including, for each roller, a section of a commercial shape secured to said flange.

9. As an article of manufacture, a sheet metal door having a top flange composed of a plurality of plies oi sheet metal extending at substantially right angles out- Wardly from the main plane of the door, supporting rollers, and means for rotatably attaching said rollers to said multiple-ply flange including, for each roller, a section of a commercial shape secured to said flange, said section of commercial shape and the multiple-ply flange having alined openings therein Within Which the rollers are partially accommodated.

10. As an article of manufacture, a door comprising, in combination: a main portion composed of sheet metal having out- Wardly extended corrugations therein; marginal reinforcing strips of sheet metal doubled over the marginal portions of the main sheet metal portion of the door, to provide multiple-ply edges, the top multiple-ply edge of the door being bent outwardly from the main plane of the door substantially perpendicular to the main plane of the door; sections of commercial shapes secured to the under side of said outwardly bent multipleply top portions of the door; and a roller rotatably mounted on each of said commer cial shape sections.

In Witness that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto subscribed my name this 11 day of January, 1922.

CHARLES I. WALKER, Witnesses B. J. BISH. C. E. FISH. 

